Capturing beautiful shots of your baby on camera can be difficult in those busy early days, so asking an experienced family photographer who specialises in newborn baby photography to take some high quality pictures that you’ll treasure forever is a great idea.
To help you make the most of your newborn baby photo session, here are five useful tips that will make sure your baby is as relaxed and happy as possible for their first professional photoshoot!
A newborn baby photography session requires more preparation than most. An experienced photographer takes pride in each and every session they set up and will spend a great deal of time preparing the studio, making sure it’s warm and cosy and ready with a selection of cute props.
1. It’s very important to schedule your photo session as soon as possible after the birth. In order to get all of the images most parents want – those lovely, cute, curled poses – your baby needs to be photographed ideally within the first 10 days of life. Babies are much sleepier at this stage and are less likely to protest at being posed and moved about.
So book your newborn session as early as possible, even before the baby is born. The photographer should know your due date and can pencil in a rough date leaving room for some flexibility.
2. Keep your baby awake for as long as possible before the shoot so that they are sleepy for the photo session. The sleepier they are the better.
3. Feed or nurse your baby as soon as you arrive at the studio to help them relax.
4. Loosen your baby’s nappy at least 30 minutes before the photoshoot to allow time for any marks to disappear.
5. Dummies (pacifiers) can really help your baby to go back to sleep in between shots. Using a dummy and having their favourite comforter to hand will keep them calm.
Don’t worry if on the day of your session your baby has some baby acne or little scratches. Photo editing software will either eliminate or drastically minimise these blemishes. If your baby has extremely dry skin, try putting some baby lotion on prior to coming to your session and bring extra with you. This will help the retouching process.
Newborn baby photography can take anything from 1- 4 hours depending on your baby’s ability to fall asleep. It’s best not to schedule any other activities or appointments afterwards, so that you are relaxed and not feeling rushed if your baby is not overly cooperative.
Above all else try and relax and enjoy this special moment with your child. Time passes by faster than you can possibly imagine and you’ll be so glad you took the time to capture their tiny baby stage on camera.
Jo Douet provides professional family photography and is based in Surrey, UK. She specialises in newborn baby photography Surrey and is also becoming a well-known maternity photographer, producing beautiful timeline images that follow you through the different stages of your pregnancy. If you would like to have some gorgeous images of your family taken by a photographer based in Surrey, please visit Jo’s website: www.JoDouetImages.com or take a look at her Family Photography Surrey portfolio.